AmaZulu join Pirates in MTN8 final after holding off Chiefs

AmaZulu players celebrate victory during the 2022 MTN8 semifinals 2nd leg match between AmaZulu and Kaizer Chiefs at Moses Mabhida Stadium, in Durban on 23 October, 2022. (Photo: Samuel Shivambu/BackpagePix)

By Yanga Sibembe

24 Oct 2022

The MTN8 final for 2022 will be contested by Orlando Pirates and AmaZulu after the duo found a way past Mamelodi Sundowns and Kaizer Chiefs respectively.

Kaizer Chiefs’ seven-year silverware drought will continue after the Soweto side failed to defeat AmaZulu at a buzzing Moses Mabhida stadium in Durban during the second MTN8 semifinal.

AmaZulu bundled out Amakhosi after holding them to a nil-all stalemate on Sunday. The result followed a 1-1 draw in Johannesburg almost one month ago. It provided Usuthu with the advantage of an away-goal and passage to the final.

In the other semifinal, played on Saturday, Orlando Pirates secured a second MTN8 final spot in three seasons after ousting defending champions Mamelodi Sundowns.

The 2020 MTN8 winners thumped the Tshwane giants 3-0 to book a date with AmaZulu in Durban. The final takes place on 5 November, at Moses Mabhida.

Barren run continues

Playing away from home and well aware that they needed to seize control of the match early on in order to have a chance of making it to the final, Amakhosi could not even manage a shot on target during the second leg.

The same can be said for AmaZulu. Though it was not a necessity for them in the context of the tie.

Chiefs have not won a trophy of any kind since they lifted the league title at the end of the 2014/2015 season. It is the longest barren run in the club’s illustrious history. With this latest disappointment, the club’s drought is set to continue.

The defeat stings even more as Amakhosi are the team that has won this competition the most times across its different guises over the decades.

The Soweto giants boast 15 wins. But the last time they tasted MTN8 success was in 2014. That is also the longest they have gone without lifting the top eight since the contest was first played in 1972.

“Whatever plan we came with [we could’ve executed better] and got a goal. Because we knew they would kill the game off, slow it down, look for fouls — just to buy time. It was not meant to be,” Chiefs coach Zwane told SuperSport after the match.

“We could’ve scored a goal and opened the game up. But our composure inside the box, as well as our decision-making, was not good… The goals we missed in Johannesburg came back to haunt us.”

For AmaZulu, it is the KwaZulu-Natal-based outfit’s first cup final appearance in a dozen years. Much to the delight of its new French coach Romain Folz.

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“I promised the fans that we will go to the final. We are in. So, we’re happy. It’s a game we could’ve won,” said Folz after the match. “Honestly, we could’ve played three games in a row, and they wouldn’t have scored against us.”

Saleng silences Sundowns

In the first semifinal, Pirates knew that they merely needed to attain a score draw to ensure safe passage to the final. Following their nil-all stalemate in the first leg in Johannesburg, a draw of that nature would have seen Josè Riveiro’s crew of merry men progress on the away-goal rule.

However, the Buccaneers were not about to sit back and be content with scraping to the final. Instead, they walloped the reigning South Africans 3-0 in front of a packed Peter Mokaba Stadium. The star of the show was winger Monnapule Saleng.

The fleet-footed forward proved too agile and nimble for the Sundowns side — netting twice and also laying one on for former Masandawana striker Kermit Erasmus to head home against his former team.

In spite of Saleng’s scintillating performance against a team Pirates had failed to beat in their previous six encounters, Spanish coach Riveiro was loath to shine the spotlight solely on the attacker.

“He is doing well week in, week out. The key for us and him is to stay humble. This is just one game that has given us the right to be in one final. That’s it. From there we start again with all of the players – the best ones in the game against Sundowns and the ones who did not play. We go together,” Riveiro stated.

Meanwhile, his Sundowns counterpart Manqoba Mngqithi cut a frustrated figure after the tie, bemoaning what he labelled ‘poor officiating’ by referee Thando Ndzandzeka and his assistants.

One contentious sequence of play led to the opening goal — which came as early as the eighth minute and placed Masandawana under immense pressure. As the attack unfolded — spearheaded by Saleng — the ball appeared to have crossed the byline.

Nevertheless, replays showed that it wasn’t the whole circumference of the ball that had gone over, as is required by the rules of the game.

Owing to that goal, it meant the 12-time Premiership winners had to now beat the Bucs to ensure an MTN8 final spot for a second season on the trot. A draw would not have been enough.

It mattered little as the Buccaneers netted two more goals for a convincing victory in Polokwane.

Mngqithi also pinpointed the absence of the injured Peter Shalulile, who is one of the most lethal goal threats in South African football, as a reason for the thumping defeat.

“For sure, we will be lying if we say we are not missing Peter,” Mngqithi shared. “Everybody knows how dependent we are on his ability to finish our chances and also to pose a lot of danger."

The next assignment for the Buccaneers is a clash against their most fierce rivals, Chiefs, over the weekend. Meanwhile, Masandawana are in action against Maritzburg United on Tuesday before a tussle versus Royal AM on the weekend. DM

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Barren run continues

Saleng silences Sundowns